Texans have plenty of receiving options opposite Andre Johnson

"When you make plays every week, people have to worry about you," Johnson said. "He's made some big plays for us the past two preseason games. If that's something that continues to happen, then you have no choice but to worry about him."

The Texans also have third-year player Jerome Mathis, who missed most of last season with injuries after making the Pro Bowl as a returner in 2005. Mathis was healthy through camp and has shown flashes of his rookie form this preseason. He has three catches for 36 yards and returned a kickoff 78 yards in Houston's exhibition opener against Chicago.

First-year Texans Andre' Davis and 37-year-old Keenan McCardell round out the group of receivers. Davis had three strong seasons in Cleveland before playing mostly special teams for New England and Buffalo the past two years while dealing with injuries.

Kubiak said Davis is "well on his way" to making the team and that he'll get a lot of work in Houston's final preseason game against Tampa Bay next week.

A year after struggling to find healthy receivers to complement Johnson, the Texans have so much depth at the position that free agent Robert Ferguson passed on playing for his hometown team because he thought he'd get more playing time in Minnesota.

"It's amazing. Last year we knew it was an issue. We talked about it and how we had to get better," Kubiak said. "The reason it got better really is because of work habits and giving young players a chance to get it done. You start to put that all together and it's a deeper, more well-conditioned group."